Int'l community lauds Xi's LatAm trip as fruitful, influential

Chinese President Xi Jinping's latest Latin America tour promoted BRICS cooperation, boosted China's ties with the nations he visited and the broader region, and bolstered regional and world peace and development, foreign leaders, analysts and media say. [Special coverage]

During the trip, his second to the region after taking office, Xi paid state visits to Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba, and attended the sixth summit of the emerging-market bloc of BRICS, and a meeting with Latin American and Caribbean leaders.

BRICS COOPERATION

The establishment of a development bank and a contingent reserve arrangement set an example for the practical cooperation among the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, said Yakov Mirkin, a professor with the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Mirkin said that for developing countries the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund cannot meet the exponentially growing demand in the global financial system. In this sense, the creation of the BRICS development bank reflects the trend of multi-polarization.

Ismael Sergio Ley Lopez, a former Mexican ambassador to China, said he believes that the BRICS summit was very fruitful, and BRICS as a cooperation mechanism for developing countries is embarking on a track to achieve substantial results.

The establishment of the BRICS development bank heralds the beginning of an era of real South-South cooperation, the professor said.

Jabin Thomas Jacob, deputy director of India's Institute of Chinese Studies, said that the BRICS summit provides a platform for its five member countries to deepen exchanges and cooperation.

The creation of the BRICS development bank and the contingent reserve arrangement was a step toward concrete cooperation actions among BRICS countries, Jacob said.

More importantly, Jacob said, it will break the current U.S. and European monopoly in international economic, financial and monetary systems.

CHINA-LATIN AMERICA TIES

Noting that Xi has visited Latin America twice since taking office, British daily The Financial Times said, "for the region as a whole China has become an alternative source of finance and trade."

China's presence in the region should be viewed "as part of a benign process of economic diversification that is good for Latin America and the United States."

Chheang Vannarith, a senior researcher with the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, said that China is adopting forward-looking foreign policies to connect its economic prosperity with the outside world, including Latin America.

"China is the bridge linking East Asia and Latin America," he said. "Investment and trade flows between the two regions create a new impetus for South-South cooperation."

BILATERAL TIES

Commenting on Xi's recent state visit to his country, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he expects Venezuela-China relations to advance to a new level thanks to Xi's "extraordinary" visit.

Maduro said his country's relationship with China is mutually beneficial and China's financial support has brought great strength to the South American economy.

"The constant financing provided by the Chinese government has been used for the social and economic development in Venezuela," he told a press conference on Wednesday.

Maduro also said Xi's Latin America trip was very positive for the region, which can cooperate as a bloc with China to establish a strong partnership on the basis of respect, mutual benefit and economic complementarity.

Argentine English-language newspaper The Buenos Aires Herald said the Argentina-China relationship has entered a new phase after being upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

"This is an upgrade of our relations" in terms of bilateral political, economic, and cultural links, the newspaper cited Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as saying.